Treat Bed Bugs

We are clean people, but we have a bedbug problem that will not go away and is causing all kinds of inconvenince on a daily basis. Is there a product out there that anyone can recommend or a solution?

Everyone has bed bugs, and they are hard to get rid of. You can go the route with an exterminator or harsh, toxic chemicals, but in my personal experience, the bed bugs — like roaches — very quickly become immune to the chemicals. And, remember, these are toxic chemicals that will need to be applied to carpeting, curtains, flooring, bedding, and even clothing to eradicate most (you will never get all) bed bugs.

That being said, I suggest an organic, non-toxic product that will not harm family and pets, and that is Diatomaceous Earth (I've included a link which will give you info, the stuff is available at most garden, pool, and many hardware centers.) Essentially, the dust (which feels like powder to us) has razor sharp edges that cut the bugs and many times their eggs so they die very quickly of dehydration (usually before they are able to mature and reproduce). The stuff works great on fleas and other crawly beasties also. I tried the exterminator/chemical route (killed my guinea pig and and elderly cat in the process) only to have a worse reinfestation 6 months later. Diatomaceous earth works, and works exceptionally well. No creature can develop an immunity to this as it does not affect the nervous system.

Vacuum daily or every other day (including upholstery, curtains, etc.) until you get the problem under control, as bed bugs are just as comfy in a chair or sofa or your carpet. And, speaking of beds, if you can afford it, switch to all-foam mattresses, as foam is not a hospitable environment, and at least you will get relief while sleeping because there won't be any bedbugs living in the mattress.

You also need to wash your clothes and bedding more frequently than usual in super, super hot water (you may have to add boiling water to washtub if your heater is only set to 120) if you line dry, or you must over-dry clothes in a dryer. I know, the Tide people say you can have "deep" savings of $6 a month by washing in cold water, but that won't kill bed bugs OR dust mites (or viruses, etc., etc.) and saving $6 a month is hardly worth it to me.

Go the natural route…I think in the long run you will be a lot happier with the results.

http://www.dirtworks.net/Diatomaceous-Earth.html?gclid=CN7-0PuljZICFQE8xwodQHpnEA

I have bed bugs. Before going to a professional, I am thinking of spraying the room myself. I bought Rentokil Insectrol. Has anyone used it? Is it efficient? Is it very dangerous for my health and how should I use it (e.g. should I spray the matress, should I leave the window open, when can I go and sleep back into the room)?
Additionally, are the chemicals from a professional less dangerous?

Dafni,

I am not familiar with that spray but if you read the label it shoudl tell you how long to wait until entering room etc.

There are chemical sprays and non-chemical sprays for bedbugs and there are ones that are residual killers and contact killers.

Chemical sprays - probably do not want to go into the room for a while after using these.

Non-Chemical - likely okay to use depending on the makeup of it. most are enzyme based which cause the bedbug to she its skin prematurely and die.

Residual - these continue to work long after being sprayed into a room

Contact killer- you have to hit the bug to hurt the bug

In general, most chemical sprays arnd treatements have residual value and most non-chemical are contact sprays.

It is likely best to use a combination of the two. A good PCo will help with the chemical portion of this and a good non-chemical contact spray is Kleen-Free (online store is at www.Kleen-Free.com) and you will need alot of this - probably a premixed sprayer as well as a good sized concentrated bottle)

A good PCO will help but a non-chemical supplement may also help if some of your bedbugs are resistent to the chemcials that are chosen for your treatment.

I hope that helps. Good luck.

thought we had bed bugs . been visiting an old lady who had them. i was bitten in bed 3 bites together. panic! so hoovered the bed looked etc. nothing. no more bites but found small eggs in the bed presume they are eggs anyway like small grains of rice. no more bites used spray etc. recently got a kitten who sleeps on the bed . was wondering if the eggs could be from cat fleas? now treated the kitten. think problems resolved but would still like to know anyones opinion
i live in london so dont think its them

if the eggs were this size and shape, they sound exactly like Rhodnius beg bugs to me. I have no idea where you live but these insects can transmit Chaga's disease.

I have had a couple of bites that have been the same in the last month or so, and we don't have pets and I live in the UK, so no poisonous spiders…The doctor said I was allergic to whatever has bitten me. I haven't seen anything that would suggest bedbugs (like bloodstains, or any bugs), but the itching is driving me crazy! Does anyone know how to get rid of them if they are there?

If they are bed bugs most likely you would have been itching all over. But if there are bed bugs then you will have to wash all your linen in extra hot water separate from your other things. Then spray your mattress with a bug spray, either the regular kind you would find in a hardware store or maybe even better something from a pet store.
Wash the linen everyday after you have used and spray every day.

Or do I need to call an exterminator. A few days ago I woke up with a random rash looking thing on my stomach, then again a couple days after that. My friends thought it was bed bugs so I decided to take my sheets off and check my mattress and sheets. I havent found a live bug, but after research I do think I have seen the shells of the bugs. Any suggestions?

Marebear,

I have heard of people getting rid of them on their own using enzyme based products but it takes time and patience. These are pesticide free so are safe to use on your own and around pets and kids etc.

The one I see mentioned most often is called Kleen-Free but they seem to have another product on their website called EcoBugFree for BedBugs so I think that may be their “New and Improved” or something.

These are contact killers so they will kill what theya re sprayed on but bedbugs hide well so you need to spray every day and anywhere that they may be hiding and keep doing this likely for up to a month. If you do a good job you will notice the population decreasing slowly.

Good luck.

I have no clue where they came from but I think we got them! Our oldest's daughter was complaining of an itchy rash. Initically bed bugs NEVER even came to mind. I stopped using fabric saftner & her her a cream figuring it was a rash. Then our youngest slept in her room & awoke covered in this "rash". We took her to the doctor who suggested it looked like bedbugs. We were shocked to say the least. We carefully inspected her mattress & low & behold we discoved tiny bugs hiding in the lining of her mattress. We immediatlt threw all her bedding in a hot water wash. We lifted her mattress & cleaned & steralized her whole room. She is now sleeping in her brother's room with him. Right now money is tight so we will toss her (brand new) mattress away & I guess have to buy a new one. I researched bedbugs on the internet & they are EXPENSIVE to treat! We just pretty much have her room locked up and quaranteed right now with all windows open so this cold weather will possibly help kill them.
We will have money for treatments after the holidays but I just wondered if anyone else experienced this & had any advice. Is there anything at all we can do untill we have the money for the treatments?? This just came at a bad time for us. Any help or suggestions will be GREATLY appreciated.

I heard someone say that 99.9 percent of all households have bed bugs…in other words, everyone has them, and even though her room has been sterilized, that doesn't mean they aren't throughout the house, as well as her brother's room. And, if it is a new mattress, it is highly likely you bought the bedbugs along with the mattress. And no, the cold weather isn't going to do much, or my unheated cabin would have been free of them!

Get some Diatomaceous Earth (available at most home centers) and sprinkle it around the room, your house, and in the mattress. DE is non-toxic, safe to pets and humans, and without going into how it works here (do a Google search), will be incredibly effective in keeping your bed bug population down, if not totally eradicating it — and quite frankly, in my opinion — with superior results than any toxic chemical that an exterminator might use. (Great for fleas, too). For what you get and what it does, it is not expensive (my last bag cost about $18 and it goes a long way).

If you do decide to get a new mattress, get a foam one, as bedbugs will not be attracted to it, nor will they be able to thrive in it.

Better Living through Organics is my motto, and I have not had a bedbug (or flea) problem in more than five years.

ADDED: As a note about pesticides and chemicals, they will not destroy eggs, and when these eggs hatch, they will have a natural resistance to the chemical, and, in a few, very quick generations, you will have super bugs that will be impossible to get rid of with pesticides.